


Always

by ardentaislinn



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Kissing, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:24:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6098796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An attempt at distracting Peggy doesn't turn out how Daniel expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always

“So, about that talk,” Daniel said after a long silence. He figured it was as good a topic as any to distract her from those dark thoughts that lurked behind her eyes.

Peggy’s gaze slid over to him, and then once again stared straight ahead. He could see the slight tightening of her shoulders, but she otherwise said nothing as she studied the opposite wall with an intensity it definitely did not deserve.

The two of them were sitting side-by-side on the floor of the darkened and otherwise empty SSR offices, their backs against a wall and a half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey between them. Whether they were celebrating or commiserating, Daniel hadn’t quite figured out.

He felt wrung out. Probably looked it, too. His hair was a mess, flopping over his forehead and nearly obscuring one eye. His clothes were not much better, made worse by his current slumping posture, exhaustion or alcohol apparently having stolen his ability to sit straight.

“Right,” Peggy said, still not looking at him, and Daniel supposed that’s the only permission he’d get to discuss this. If it was possible, she looked even worse than him. The weary defeat in her eyes signalling her state more than her rumpled clothing ever could.

“What Violet said, about me being in love with you-” Daniel began. Peggy interrupted with a strangled sound, but Daniel plowed on. “It’s true. It has been for a long while.”

He paused briefly, just to see if she’d say anything. But she was stubbornly silent. He took a deep breath, figuring he had his answer, even though he hadn’t quite realised he was asking a question.

“Anyway, I just wanted to get that out there. Let you know I expect nothing of you.”

He ran his finger over the glass of the bottle, wondering if there was enough alcohol in there to make him forget. Probably not. Just his luck.

“I’m sorry about Jason,” he blurted out. He had never felt more selfish, letting his mouth run away with his feelings when she was grieving. He’d given his sympathies a few times before they’d started drinking - if memory served it was  _ why _ they’d started drinking - but it beared repeating again.

“I fought with Jarvis,” Peggy murmured softly.

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut. “Man, you’ve had a hell of a time of it.”

She let out a humourless laugh. “Yes, I really have.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Peggy was silent for a long time. “People have a tendency to die around me,” she said softly.

Her expression was like a vicious punch to his gut. “Hey, now, Peg. That’s the job. That’s not on you.”

She nodded slowly. “I tell myself that, but sometimes I wonder.”

Daniel threw caution to the wind and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers together. She didn’t resist, and Daniel wondered if it was his imagination that she leaned towards him just a little.

“As much as we might want to, we can’t protect everyone. We have to let them make their own choices sometimes.”

“Doesn’t make it hurt any less,” she choked out, and tears formed in her eyes as she finally looked at him full in the face. Daniel’s heart turned over, aching at seeing her miserable and in pain.

“No, it doesn’t,” he murmured. He gingerly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and Peggy collapsed into him without hesitation. She was silent, but Daniel couldn’t mistake the growing damp patch on his shirt.

“It’ll be OK, Peg,” he told her, only half believing it. Daniel thumped his head back against the wall and settled in, slowly stroking his hand over her arm in a comforting gesture.

Eventually, Peggy took some deep, steadying breaths and began to pull away from him. Daniel felt the emotional walls she began putting up more than he minded the physical space.

“Peg, just remember that I’m still here. And I will be, no matter what.”

The tears dried in her eyes as she studied him with a considering look. Daniel frowned in confusion, not sure what it meant.

“Peg-”

“You are, aren’t you? Still here, through it all.”

“Always,” he told her, as if it was obvious. And it was, to him. But the word seemed to have some kind of effect on Peggy. Her eyes narrowed as she appeared to come to some kind of decision. She leaned forward, her goal unmistakeable as her eyes fixated on his lips. 

Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off her as she came closer. Some part of his brain wouldn’t shut off, wondering there would be anything to interrupt them this time. It wasn’t until her lips pressed against his that he believe it was finally happening. Peggy Carter was kissing him.

Given the situation, Daniel had expected it to be a desperate kiss - designed to make a person forget. But it seemed that Peggy didn’t want to forget the world, she wanted to savour it, as her lips clung delicately to his.

Daniel kissed her back, softly at first, as they tested each other. Testing became tasting as Peggy flicked her tongue out, coaxing his mouth open. Daniel let her take the lead as she pressed into him, teasing his mouth with her own. 

Her hands crept into his hair, tugging a little. Unable to resist, Daniel settled his hands over her hips. He ran his hands up her sides, and back down again, needing to touch her but not wanting to go too far, too fast.

She kissed him once more, twice more, as if she wasn’t quite able to resist him as she pulled away.

“Thank you, Daniel,” she told him with sincerity in her eyes and a slight smile on her lips.

“For kissing you?” he asked playfully.

Her smile bloomed into a real one and she looked down, a little bashful. “For always being there,” she clarified. “For understanding what it is like to live in this world and do this job. I never realised how important it was to have someone I can always rely on. Who gets it without me having to explain. Someone who’s always there.” Their eyes locked. Daniel’s heartbeat, which had been slowly creeping back to normal pace after the kiss, kicked back into high gear.

“What does this mean?” he asked. He had to know.

“I don’t know, not quite yet. But I know it does mean  _ something _ .”

Daniel smiled, relieved. He could work with  _ something _ . “Take your time to figure it out. Like I said, I’ll be here. Always.”


End file.
